Years of hard work have paid off for the Carleton women’s basketball team.
On March 2, they bought their ticket to the women’s Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) Final 8 tournament in Regina, Sask. with a 50-43 victory over the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees.
“I’m overwhelmed right now,” rookie forward Lindsay Shotbolt said. “We put so much hard work and dedication in the whole year with two-hour practices and just grinding it out at the gym.”
When asked how many years in the making this win has been, head coach Taffe Charles said, “It’s been a number of years actually: five, six years with Alyson Bush and [with] Kendall MacLeod, it’s been five years. I’m just really thrilled for them. When you play your five years, you just want a chance to play in a national championship.”
The game was the third meeting this season between Ravens and the rival Gee-Gees. The Ravens were ranked sixth in the CIS and the Gee-Gees were ranked seventh. The last meeting ended less favourably for the Ravens, who lost 52-50.
Leading into the conference final, the Ravens downed the University of Toronto Varsity Blues 71-47 last weekend.
Coming into the final game, Ravens star forward Bush said she felt “a bit nervous.”
“It’s kind of a do-or-die. I think we were definitely really excited and we wanted to come out with lots of energy,” she said.
At the final, the Gee-Gees opened the scoring two minutes into the first quarter with a jump shot by Alyska Lukan. Seconds later, Catherine Traer gave the Gee-Gees a 4-0 lead. The Ravens’ Genavieve Melatti answered back by dumping a basket four minutes into the first quarter.
Throughout the rest of the first quarter, the score flip-flopped between the Ravens and the Gee-Gees, but the Ravens came out on top. A score of 8-5 in favour of the Ravens closed out the first quarter, and the game would continue to be close as the Gee-Gees put it within one with 26 seconds left until half time.
The true test for the Ravens came at the end of the third frame, which saw the Gee-Gees leading 36-33. Kim Cupid had a clean breakaway in the opening minute of the third to give the Gee-Gees a lead that they would not give up the rest of the quarter.
Despite many attempts, the Ravens could only get within one point for the entire quarter. Charles urged his players to “stay calm and don’t panic.”
The fourth quarter started with more promise for the Ravens. Two foul shots by Bush put the Ravens within one point. In the end, it would be Bush again with two foul shots that would seal the victory for the Ravens.
In preparation for nationals, Charles said his message to the team would be to “just keep doing the same thing.”
Shotbolt added that Charles “really believed in us and that carried us through . . . he knew we could do it.”
The CIS National Championships begin on March 15 at the University of Regina. The final will be on March 17.
